A Travel & Culture Blog For People Who Hate Tourists

Sorry, folks. This plate is spoken for and was given a proper home in my stomach.

There are dozens of award-winning barbecue in Nashville. Even when Top 10 lists are published, the comments section will become a series of “how can u forget such-such” or “that place is over-rated.” The good news is that you can’t go wrong with any recommendation from locals or food critics. The bad news is that you’ll get barbecue out from eating so much of it like I did. I swear, there might be sauce running through my veins.

If it sauce, it could come from Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint. If you’ve seen the first season of Aziz Ansari’s Netflix show, Master of None, the Nashville episode makes passing reference to white sauce at a fictional joint called Tickler’s. It’s based on Martin’s Alabama White Bar-B-Que Sauce, a tangy mayo based substance you might want to drink straight up. “Here in the Joint, we dunk our whole smoked chickens in a big ol’ bucket of this stuff. We also put this sauce on our smoked turkey and chicken wings. But man, take this stuff and make a slaw with it, put it on a cheeseburger or just figure out your own secret use. We won’t tell anybody,” says the website.

You can order a jar online, enough that you can slather your face in it. Although it’s best at the restaurant, you can dip in your chicken wings. I happen to get the last jar of it (along with their super spicy bbq sauce), so you know it’s a popular substance. What I got above is a basic sampler with beef brisket, pulled pork, mac n’ cheese and potato salad. That salad was my favorite of the whole trip. The cheese was thick, like Velvetta style but with real cheese. There’s vinegar sauce on the table, but I like to try the meat sauceless at first to taste smoke flavor.

While there two locations in Nashville and four total in Tennessee, I actually went to the one outside of Louisville that’s near a golf course because I ran out of time in Nashville. There’s also a location in Morgantown, West Virginia As you can see below, the joint is filled with southern memorabilia. I got to sit underneath a framed picture of Mel Tillis.

Add in some local craft beer and you got yourself a feast. It’s seriously legit eats.